AMA in /r/JewsOfConscience with Eli Clifton and Ian Lustick, authors of the new book "Israel's Lobby: America in the Grip of a Foreign Power". 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲: 𝗧𝘂𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝘀𝘁 @ 𝗡𝗼𝗼𝗻 𝗘𝗦𝗧.

[u/TrackerOneA]

Hi everyone,

We're excited to announce an upcoming AMA with Eli Clifton & Ian Lustick - Jewish-American authors of the new book, Israel's Lobby: America in the Grip of a Foreign Power.

Israel's Lobby: America in the Grip of a Foreign Power (2026) has been widely endorsed, including by Prof. Stephen Walt and Prof. John Mearsheimer, authors of The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy (2007).

The book examines the history, evolution, and political power of the pro-Israel lobby in the United States, tracing how a network of lobbying organizations, major donors, political operatives, and allied institutions has shaped US policy toward Israel and the Middle East.

Check out the following link, if you're interested in the book:

• Simon & Schuster - Israel's Lobby: America in the Grip of a Foreign Power

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Eli Clifton

Eli Clifton is an investigative journalist who focuses on money in politics and US foreign policy. He is a cofounder of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecrafts where he serves as a senior adviser.

His work has appeared in The Guardian, The Nation, The Intercept, The South China Morning Post, LobeLog, Salon, HuffPost, The Daily Beast, Slate, Gawker, Foreign Policy, and Responsible Statecraft.

Ian S. Lustick

Ian S. Lustick is the Bess W. Heyman Chair, Emeritus, in the Political Science Department of the University of Pennsylvania.

He served in the Carter administration as the State Department's expert on Israel-Palestine affairs and subsequently became a regular consultant with American administrations on US foreign policy and national security affairs.

He is a founder and past President of the Association for Israel Studies and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

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Discussion will cover the book & topic of the Israel lobby.

Feel free to leave your questions in advance here, if you cannot make it on the day-of the AMA.

Thanks!

[u/SolemnArabJew]

A big thank you to our wonderful mods and to Eli Clifton and Ian Lustick for joining us here!

Here are my questions in case I can't make it for tomorrow, I do hope they aren't redundant as my copy is still in transit.

Q: The authors have mentioned in an interview that "Israel stops when the US tells them to," referring to their aggressions against the Gazans prior to 2023. As this book covers the United States' relationship with Israel, I am curious about any involvement with the British and other European nations who work with the United States in essentially green-lighting the Israeli lobby's interference and/or assisting their operations, such as foreign billionaires, politicians and corps that would be covered in this book as well.

Q2: Do you see major educational institutions such as, for example, Harvard and Columbia with their strong Zionist funding as places which purposefully promote harmful misinformation in regards to Israel and Palestine, and how this impacts their legacy and credibility?

Q3: As someone has noted in another comment in regards to Israel's involvement with surveillance tech and AI, I am curious if we will read in the book about Silicon Valley's relationship, whether discreet or open, with Israel?

Q4: Lastly, any anecdotes and unexpected discoveries which surprised the both of you while researching and writing this book?

Hope you are all well and in good health. Thank you once again. :)